hood latch

[Guest]

im not sure of the right way to explain this but here i go...im having a few problems with my hood staying latched on my 55 buick as im driving. i replaced the bottom part of the latch that i got off of an old junker, it worked for awhile but it still pops up, luckily there is a safety latch. it seems to give away when i hit a bump on the road where the road dips down and the front end goes first in the hole, on the other hand i can go on a road that is very bumpy but without any potholes and nothing happens. i am thinking of replacing the part of the latch that is on the hood, but i am having trouble finding one. does anybody have any ideas to what is causing it to pop up? or maybe the part i am in need of? ive asked others and they are clueless just like me. i can drive around for hours and it will be fine but all of a sudden it will pop up. it just seems very odd to me. any help would be great. thank you. mindy.

[Guest]

I have a '55 Century HTP and had problems getting the hood to latch when closing, but it never opened up after I finally got it to lock. What I found was that the piece that protrudes down from the top was not going all the way into the opening it fits into when closed, so it kept popping back up when the hood was pushed down to close.<P>Solution: There is a locking nut on the threaded shaft on the top part of the latch.<BR>Loosen the nut, extend the shaft downward and relock the nut. Do this in small increments until you get a proper adjustment.<BR>The hood should lock securely by just pushing it down hard, but not slamming it down. Getting your hand and a wrench in there is not easy, but it can be done. Small hands work best. Hope this solves your problem. ~~ HV

[Guest]

thank you very much, i will try that this weekend. i did have problems with it popping up and not wanting to close no matter what i tried but now it closes perfectly but just doesnt want to stay for a long period of time. thanks again. mindy.